Hoyer Remarks at Press Conference on Make It In America Plan for 113th Congress

Hoyer Remarks at Press Conference on Make It In America Plan for 113th Congress

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) was joined by House Democrats at a press conference this afternoon to announce Make It In America legislation [2]for the 113th Congress[2] to advance the four goals of adopting and pursuing a national manufacturing strategy; promoting the export of U.S. goods; encouraging manufacturers to bring jobs and innovation back to the U.S.; and training and securing a 21st century workforce. Below are his remarks, as prepared for delivery:

"Three years ago, House Democrats introduced our Make It In America plan to create jobs and revive our manufacturing sector, and we have been pushing hard for its consideration.

"While we were able to work with Republicans to pass a handful of Make It In America bills last Congress, including the Export-Import Bank reauthorization, the America COMPETES Act, and patent reform, there is far more to be done.

"In this political climate, we recognize that serious proposals for creating jobs have to have a real chance of gaining bipartisan support in the House and Senate in order to become law.

"With that in mind, we are here today to discuss our new Make It In America priorities for 2013, which not only stand the greatest chance of drawing support from both sides of the aisle, but also reflect what manufacturers, labor leaders, and entrepreneurs believe are the most important steps Congress can take to reinvigorate our manufacturing sector and create jobs for our middle class.

"This Congress, we will be focusing on four core components.

"First, we need to develop a national manufacturing strategy to guide us over the short and long terms.

"Second, Congress needs to continue making it easier for manufacturers to export. In 2010, President Obama set a goal of doubling exports by 2015, and we’re nearly halfway there. But in order to achieve this goal, we must do more to open new markets and improve our transportation infrastructure.

"Third, we need to encourage manufacturers to bring jobs and innovation home. This means enacting targeted tax incentives to help those businesses that want to move production back to the United States, encouraging investment in research and development, and supporting the production of innovative technologies.

"Finally, we must maintain a highly skilled and highly educated workforce. Not only do we need to invest in quality education and job training, but we also need to make sure that we are attracting and securing the top talent to live and work here in America.

"These are four critical areas where we believe Republicans are ready to work with us to help our manufacturers Make It In America. Today, we are announcing specific bills that will advance those four goals.

"The full list of Make It In America bills is available on our website: DemocraticWhip.gov

"It is now my privilege to turn the microphone over to my colleagues to talk about what their bills would do to create jobs and help secure our middle class."